Hydroxyls are radicals of chemical formula O—H which exist in nature and typically are formed by the interaction of ultraviolet (UV) radiation and atmospheric water vapor:
Hydroxyls are very reactive, and therefore are usually short-lived, as they react with compounds around them. This reactivity makes hydroxyls excellent “scavengers” for compounds which act as pollutants, such as bacteria, viruses, mold, radon, odorous compounds, VOC's (volatile organic compounds), poisonous gases, and thousands of other compounds.
In nature, hydroxyls are formed by solar generated UV-radiation, and therefore are only formed outdoors. Hydroxyls can also be created indoors by artificially generated UV-radiation having wavelengths of 170-270 nm. UV-radiation of this wavelength is also capable of independently decontaminating airstreams of certain particles. Therefore, prior art devices have been constructed which funnel airstreams through banks of UV-radiation for the purpose of cleansing the air. Such devices are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,935,525, and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2001/0043887, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference.
Such devices are taught to be useful for purifying air. However, they suffer from the drawback that they can only purify air which is drawn or blown through the device—that is, in direct proximity to the UV-radiation sources—which limits their effectiveness in large indoor settings, such as in a warehouse. Moreover, the need to bring the dirty air in close proximity to the UV-radiation source, limits the ability of the devices to disinfect the surfaces of objects located even short distances away from them. For example, prior art devices, if operating in a warehouse suffering from fire damage, would not be able to deodorize cardboard boxes which had absorbed smoke from the fire.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved device which generates hydroxyls which are, and whose effects are, relatively long-lived, and which can be used to purify large volumes of air and objects which come into contact with that air.